Sebastopol, CA--"Network security is an increasingly hot topic, and with around two million SSH users across the globe, the information in SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide is pretty timely," says Daniel J. Barrett, coauthor of this new O'Reilly release (US $39.95).
SSH, the Secure Shell*, is a popular, robust, and powerful software-based approach to network security. Whenever data is sent by a computer to the network, SSH automatically encrypts it. When the date reaches its intended recipient, SSH automatically decrypts it. The result is "transparent" encryption--users can work normally, unaware that their communications are safely encrypted on the network. SSH is an extremely valuable tool that helps users more safely navigate today's Internet, and helps system administrators secure their networks or perform remote administration. It supports secure file transfer between computers, secure remote logins, and a unique "tunneling" capability that adds encryption to otherwise insecure network applications. Best of all, SSH is free, with feature-filled commercial versions available as well.
Because of its flexibility--as well as the existence of multiple implementations for various operating systems--newcomers to SSH frequently have lots of questions. "SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide is written for a wide, technical audience: individuals running Linux machines at home, corporate network administrators with thousands of users, or PC/Mac owners who just want a secure way to telnet or transfer files between machines," explains Barrett. "The material starts with simple installation and use of SSH, but runs all the way to in-depth case studies for highly secure computing environments."
SSH: The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide covers the Secure Shell in detail for both system administrators and end users. It demystifies the SSH man pages and includes thorough coverage of:
Installing and maintaining SSH systems
Configuring SSH servers and clients with recommended settings to maximize security
SSH1, SSH2, OpenSSH, and F-Secure SSH for Unix, Windows and Macintosh products
Advanced key management using agents, agent forwarding, and forced commands
Tunneling of TCP and X11 applications in depth, even in the presence of firewalls and network address translation (NAT)
Undocumented behaviors of popular SSH implementations
Troubleshooting a wide variety of common and not-so-common problems
So whether you're shipping information on a small LAN or across the Internet, SSH can ferry your data from here-to-there efficiently and securely, with O'Reilly's SSH: The Secure Shell as the ultimate tour guide.
*"SSH" is pronounced by spelling it aloud "S-S-H." The name Secure Shell might seem a little puzzling, as it isn't a shell at all. The name was coined from the existingrsh utility, an ubiquitous Unix program that also
provides logins, but is not very secure.
Online Resources:
Chapter 8, Per-Account Server Configuration, and an excerpt from Chapter 11, Case Studies-Connecting Through a Gateway Host, are available free online.
"Top Ten Secure Shell FAQs" by coauthor Richard Silverman.
More information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, author bio, and samples.
A cover graphic in jpeg format.
By Daniel J. Barrett & Richard Silverman
February 2001
ISBN 0-596-00011-1, 540 pages, $39.95 (US)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
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